Sparkling-sitting
by tflover2.0
Summary: "There's no one else I would trust more." Oh yeah, that's totally a comfort when faced with the task of taking care of six sparklings until they can be turned back. Cade is faced with quite the dilemma when the Autobots are turned into sparklings, leaving him the only one to take care of them. Cade had the feeling he had his work cut out for him.


**So, my muse is on a roll, so here is another fic for you all. I'm taking some liberties here (for example, there probably isn't any machine that can change them into sparklings, but eh!) but mostly this is just supposed to be a cute oneshot for you guys to enjoy.**

 **I hope you guys enjoy! I'd appreciate any reviews/comments so I can improve my writing!**

 **I don't own anything Transformers.**

 _Honk! Honk!_

Cade jumped as he heard a familiar horn blaring through the air, and turned just in time to see Optimus, of all mechs, come driving up to his house. It had been nearly a month since he'd last heard from them, and so to see the knight was a welcome joy. During the month of silence, Cade had been scrambling around, trying to work with world leaders and governments to stop hunting the Autobots, get alliances going and truces. He'd decided to stay in England, as it was the closest connecting...branch to the Autobots (or so he'd supposed, he wasn't sure where they had gone, or what those things that connected Cybertron and Earth were even called). Everyone seemed to agree with his decision, probably more because they didn't want the bots going around unsupervised, but Cade would take what he could get.

The red and blue truck finally parked up in front of his new house, a small cottage that Cade would never admit to absolutely adoring. Cade jogged up, a grin on his face.

"Optimus! It's been a while!" The bot didn't transform, which confused Cade a bit, but he tried to ignore it as Optimus replied.

"Indeed. I apologize for the long delay, it has been...hectic, as of late, starting the rebuilding of our world."

"Yeah, I bet," Cade said, "hey, any reason you aren't transforming, or..." The Autobots was quiet for a moment, which really concerned Cade. What was going on?

"I am afraid I did not come just to 'catch up', as you might say. I need your help."

"What? What's wrong, something up with your systems? I can go get my tools right now, start right away-"

"Do not fret, Cade, it is no problem with me. Rather, it is with my...companions." Companions? What companions?

Optimus opened his door, and out tumbled a pile of things that Tads couldn't immediately recognize, but were giving him a sneaking suspicion. The pile began to move, and what once was one pile became one, two, four, no, _six_ individuals, and Cade began to feel a horrible realization come in as he noticed how they all resembled the Autobot team he'd been with. One was yellow like Bumblebee, dark green and large like Hound, neon green like Crosshairs, red and black like Hot Rod, and blue like Drift. The other was a T-Rex, obviously Grimlock since the other baby dinobots were currently with Izabella.

"Please tell me that isn't who I think it is." Cade said despairingly. Optimus nodded his head once and Cade groaned.

"Through some way that I have yet to find out, they have been turned into sparklings, or as you would call them, babies."

"How- wait you just said you didn't know- I mean, ugh," Cade rubbed his face tiredly, "I hope you have someone else helping you out in finding a cure or something."

"Indeed, there are others who have joined us who are helping me research the object which we believe caused this. I am only here now because these six were becoming rambunctious and underfoot, and Bumblebee nearly offlined due to straying to close to a ledge, so I thought it would be more prudent to take them somewhere more safe."

"You want me to take care of them, don't you?" Cade asked, slumping slightly. Optimus nodded again.

"There is no one else I would trust more." Ok, that made Cade feel a little better about the situation, because who wouldn't feel slightly giddy that the leader of an alien race put his complete trust in you over anyone else, but still. Six. Baby. Transformers.

He was so screwed.

It was only an hour that Optimus stayed for, explaining the sparklings' needs and such, then heading back to Cybertron. Cade still couldn't quite believe the situation, but he took it in stride. He looked down at the six baby bots peering up at him, and nodded firmly to himself. Right, first up, getting them inside his house.

"Come on guys, follow me," he said, walking towards the house. Only Bee and Grimlock followed, the others just looking at him confusedly. Cade stopped, then groaned. Baby Autobots means no knowledge or understanding of English, maybe not even of their own language. He looked about, and spotted a wheelbarrow a little ways off. He grinned, jogging over to get it, with Grimlock and Bee dutifully following him. He grabbed it, and wheeled it over to the other four, who were beginning to get antsy and starting to wander about, initial timidness wearing off. He quickly scooped up Crosshairs and Hot Rod, who were getting the farthest away, and placed them in the barrow. He then collected Drift, who fussed a little but calmed down quickly, then Hound, who was playing with a patch of grass, brushing his hand over the blades again and again. All of them in the barrow, he marched off to the house, only pausing now and again to stop the four from escaping the wheelbarrow, or to allow Bee and Grimlock to catch up, tiny as they were now.

The four were a bit taller then Wheelie at his tallest height, and a little more bulky him as well. They all had softer edges to them, and big round optics that made Cade's heart turn to goop. Bumblebee especially pulled the look off well, doubling the cuteness factor with the fact that he wouldn't leave Cade's side. They all clicked and chirped and garbled away in what Cade thinks is Cybertronian as he brings them inside. He closes the door behind him, and quickly totes the sparklings into an empty room that he'd been planning to turn into a work space.

"Guess that plan will have to be put on hold," Cade mumbled. He closed the door as soon as he placed the wheelbarrow down, so none of the Autobots could escape. The room was quite bare, with only an old bed and a desk left behind from the previous owners. Cade sat down, placing a hand on his chin.

"Ok, so I need to entertain you guys and feed you guys, those two are the biggest concerns Optimus gave me. Feeding, I can get some oil, that should tide you over apparently. But entertainment, hmmm..." Cade thought to the many things around the house he could give that would distract them, but not hurt them. He would also have to include each bots own personality, as he knew from experience that what one kid wanted, another may want nothing to do with. Bee and Grimlock also seemed a little clingy, so he wouldn't be able to stay away for too long, at least not from those two. The other four seem happy with messing about and exploring on their own, which was both a blessing and a curse.

"All right, first things first, blankets and towels so they can sleep on them," Cade said, aiming to slip away from the room for a few moments. However, the minute he shut the door, hell broke loose.

An ear-piercing screech filled the house, and Cade bent over, covering his ears to try and limit the noise causing him pain. He burst into the room, and saw the perpetrator was Bumblebee, wailing away as Hot Rod tried to comfort/stop him. Grimlock was hiding behind Cade's legs, and the other three were cowering in the corner. Cade stumbled over to the little bot, and scooped him up.

Once in Cade's arms, he immediately calmed down, purring and snuggling against Cade as the inventor slumped to the floor, glad the noise was over. Hot Rod grabbed onto Cade's arm, watching Bee carefully, while Grimlock carefully scooted over. Hound relaxed a touch, but didn't move from the corner with Crosshairs and Drift. Sighing, Cade reached slightly to the three in the corner.

"Come on, it's ok," he said gently, motioning for them to come to him, "everything's fine now." Hound hesitantly came over, relaxing fully when Cade patted his head. Hot Rod put himself in Cade's lap, while Hound sat next to him. Grimlock lied down with his head on a small part of Cade's thigh that wasn't occupied. Crosshairs and Drift finally came over, settling down near them but still skittish of any movement or noise, especially any from Bee. With all the sparklings relatively calm again, Cade took a deep breath in and out.

"Well, things are certainly going to be interesting for the next few weeks, huh?" He muttered.

It only took a few days for Cade to get a system in place, though it helped that on the second day he began to take notes:

Take Bee everywhere, or he'll start screaming (placing him in a backpack is useful when you want to keep him near but need your hands free and feet not tripping over things).

Grimlock is like a dog, he'll follow you around, but if you tell him to stay he'll entertain himself, or sleep.

They all love soft towels.

They love the oil (note, don't keep the oil in their room, even when sealed, they will find a way to open it).

Crosshairs and Drift are inseparable, and Hot Rod has gained a protective streak over Bee after the first incident.

Dog toys, especially the rope, are good toys for the bots to play with, nothing else is strong enough.

Hound likes books with pictures.

Any chance they get, Crosshairs and Drift will try to escape.

Baby gates are a good way to stop said escape attempts.

The list just kept growing and growing every day as Cade learned new tricks and information that helped in taking care of the sparklings. Ropes were the best toy so far, as they were strong enough to hand a lot of tugging and pulling, but big enough to allow two bots to play tug of war with each other if in a rambunctious mood. Rubix cubes and other puzzles were also good for Hot Rod and Bee, while Hound just entertained himself with kids' discovery books and encyclopedias. He really didn't expect that from Hound, but hey. To each their own, just because Hound's a gun and violence loving guy doesn't mean he can't like calmer things like reading.

"Bzzzzrt?" He heard a questioning chirp, and Cade shook out of his thoughts to look down at Bee, who was staring intently at his pencil and journal.

"Hey there Bee, whatchya need?" Cade asked. Bee didn't look up, but made a small grabby motion at the pencil, mystified by the object. Cade chuckled, taking the pencil and paper out of his reach. When Bee whimpered sadly, he hummed, getting an idea.

Getting up, he put the backpack on, and placed Bee inside, making sure the gates were shut properly before slipping out of the room. He went to the dining room, his makeshift office, and grabbed a journal and a few different colored pens. Going back into the 'sparkling room', as he'd dubbed it, he settled himself and Bee down before spreading out all of the collected items. Placing the journal open on a fresh page, Cade took a pen and uncapped it, handing it to the yellow sparkling. Bee squealed, bouncing up and down, then looked at Cade expectantly. Cade got his own pen, and began drawing an old-style radio on the page. After a few moments, Bee began to follow his lead, though not exactly copying him. Once Cade was done, he sat back, taking a pause to see what Bee was drawing.

What he saw fascinated him. He knew that the bots were much more intelligent of a race than his own, but he still didn't expect to see what he did. Many different glyphs were inscribed upon the paper, and had drawn a camaro (his own alt form), a truck in blue and red, and a couple other vehicles. Cade lied down, resting his head on his hand as the other rested on his stomach. Closing his eyes, he enjoyed the cool weather, the relative quiet, and the peace he could now enjoy.

Cade got at least a half hour before he felt a nudge to his arm, and he peered down to see Bee holding the journal to him. Sitting up to pick up the journal, he was amazed to see another drawing of him himself, with all the sparklings around him. It was very realistically drawn, and Cade whistled.

"You're quite the artist, hey?" He told Bumblebee, patting the bot's head affectionately. The bot chirped happily, and turned the page, getting the idea of the journal and continuing his doodling.

Cade tried to see if the other sparklings wanted to draw, but they all became quickly bored with the idea, or caused too much mess, so Cade added in the advice journal:

Bee is a mini-artist, and especially loves colored pencils, but never let Crosshairs near the paint again.

Hearing the blaring of horns at two in the morning, causing the sparklings to all start screaming, was NOT one of Cade's favorite ways to wake up. But that was how Cade found himself two weeks later, in nothing but pajama shorts, glaring at a sheepish Autobot who was rubbing his head.

"What do you mean, you messed up?" Cade demanded, really not up for any shit at this time of night. The Cybertronian, Topspin apparently, shrugged, then held up his hands in surrender when Cade glared even harder.

"I was testing out the relic we found, the one that did all this, and, well, me and my friend were messing about, so the thing got knocked over, and, well..."

"Well what?" Cade growled.

"It accidentally hit Optimus." Cade's eyes widened as Topspin brought the Autobot leader now sparkling out into the open. Cade placed his face in his hands and groaned loudly, almost at the point of just crying. He already had six sparklings, he can't deal with another one! But he took a deep breath instead, letting it out slowly to calm himself, then looking up. The mini Optimus was taller than the other sparklings, in rough estimation, and had his red and blue and gray color scheme. What worried Cade was how timid and scared the bot looked, as he tried to curl himself in to be as small as possible while hanging there.

"Put him down then." Cade urged, but Topspin shook his head.

"Nuh uh, he'll run."

"Run?" Cade asked.

"Yep. Who knew the boss was so timid as a sparkling, he's been doing nothing but trying to run from me. You have to have a good grip on him, or he'll take off, and who knows what'll happen to him then!" Topspin explained. Cade scratched his head, then shrugged and held his arms out. Topspin handed the sparkling to him, despite Optimus' frantic struggles to break loose in the exchange, and Cade managed to get a good grip on the bot.

"Don't you worry though, me and my friend found out how to reverse the process, it'll only take a week or so for us to finish! Good luck, human- I mean, Chase!" With that, the Autobot took off, leaving Cade in a cloud of dust with a trembling sparkling in his arms. Coughing, he backed away, going inside the house as he muttered "it's Cade, not Chase." Sitting inside the living room, ignoring the still screeching sparklings in their room, he looked down at the bot in his arms, who was still trembling.

"How to calm you down, hm?" Cade wondered softly, "have to say, Optimus, I didn't expect you to be this timid either. You really grew up a lot, huh? I wonder what happened to you." Almost unconsciously, he gently rocked his knee, just like he did when Tessa was little. He started rubbing the poor sparklings' head, trying everything he could think of to calm him down.

"So, maybe me talking will calm you down, so let's try that," Cade said, stopping his knee, "my name's Cade, I've met you before, though you don't remember me now- I hope none of them remember all this, that would be embarrassing as hell- so yeah. Re-introductions I guess.

"My full name is Cade Yeager, and I'm your friend. I let you stay in my barn the first time we ever met, and in return you saved my life- which is very unfair you know, I can't exactly pay you back that often for all the times you've saved me and my families' lives- and then a whole slew of things occurred after that.

"We stopped loads of people from dying the first time, and recently we saved both our worlds. Yours from being ruled by a psychotic transformer goddess, and the other from being drained of life by said goddess. So yeah, thanks by the way for that, not letting it happen and all." He trailed off when he realized the bot had stopped trembling, and was now just watching Cade, optics showing a curious but hesitant sense.

"I guess that worked," Cade said, smiling. He patted Optimus' head, and stood up, "alright, come on big-no, little guy now, actually, let's go calm the others." As he walked to the room, Optimus poked his chest, above his heart.

"That's my chest little guy," Cade said, " 's where my heart is." Optimus listened to him completely whenever he spoke, even though he obviously didn't understand a word, and kept poking his chest, then placing a flat hand onto it. He chirped in surprise when he felt a heartbeat, and stayed enraptured with the beating pulse as Cade went into the room, where the screeching sparklings were. They had quieted down somewhat, at least in decibels, but they definitely calmed down more when the human came in. Bumblebee came scrambling over to him, waiting patiently for Cade to come through the gate. As soon as he was fully in the room he sat down, letting Bee snuggle up to his side. Hot Rod was not far behind Bee, but was hesitant due to the unknown sparkling in Cade's arms.

Crosshairs and Drift kept wailing, which caused Hound to scream as well as he was more frightened by the two others than by the impromptu visit. Looking at Hot Rod, he pointed at the red and black sparkling, the at the two screaming in the corner, then to the space in front of him. Hot Rod perked up, loving to please the human, and scrambled over to the two, nearly knocking them over, and proceeded to drag Drift over, which made Crosshairs follow.

Once they arrived, he let Optimus down, since the room was pretty secure, and scooped up the two, stroking their helms soothingly as their wails began to die down (much to the relief of his ears). He noticed the third sparklings crying was gone, and looked over to see Hound being comforted by Optimus, of all sparklings. He grinned, not surprised at all. He knew Optimus had to have a soft side to him.

"Alright, another obstacle over and done with," Cade said tiredly, rubbing his eyes with one hand, "and only a week or so left. I can do this."

The next day saw a few new entries into the journal.

Sleeping in the Sparklings' room is a great way to calm them down, and can actually be pretty comfy.

Optimus is (no surprise here) the dad of the group.

What is surprising, is that Optimus is almost as clingy as Bee

Grimlock can sleep through everything and anything.

"So, when the hell did this happen?" Lennox asked, Izabella nodding in agreement. Cade sighed, throwing his hands up.

"A few weeks ago I think. I got them three weeks ago, but I have no idea they'd been sparklings before that. The group became sparklings before Optimus, I got the boss bot two days ago. I'm so glad you guys are here, not going to lie." Cade sat down in the rocking chair he'd put into the sparkling room.

"Are these all of them?" Izabella asked. Cade nodded, then froze.

"Thank god the knights weren't turned into sparklings," Cade said, slumping down and shivering at the mere thought, "I have a hard enough time as it is stopping Grimlock from burning down the house, I would be scrambling across the UK trying to find these guys by now if the dragon were here." Lennox nodded, sitting down on the bed by Izabella, who'd taken Hound into her lap and was lightly playing with him.

"They're pretty cute," she said, smiling at Hound. Cade nodded.

"Yeah, when they're distracted and happy. When they aren't, it's hell."

"So, what, you mean like normal babies?" Lennox teased, causing Cade to glare at him. Lennox held his hands up in mock surrender, but soon put them down as Crosshairs and Drift came over to inspect the laces of his shoes.

"Yeah, I guess like human babies. But it's pretty different actually. They're a lot smarter for one, that's why the baby gates up, only way to stop them all rushing the door and escaping. Also, Bee is an awesome artist, he's probably drawing you two now, by the looks of it," he gestured to the little yellow bot in the corner, scribbling away, "also, their screams are likely to puncture your eardrums. It's a wonder I can hear at all."

"Stop complaining, you went through all this with Tessa, didn't you?" Lennox said, rolling his eyes. Cade said nothing merely getting up. Bee immediately looked up, and scampered after him, but Cade stopped him from following. He opened the door, and looked to Izabella, smirking.

"You might want to cover your ears," he advised, gesturing to all the other sparklings who had done the same. Then, he shut the door.

The piercing wail begun, and Cade gave them about a good ten seconds before coming back in, swooping Bumblebee off the floor and calming him down before Lennox and Izabella both had permanent ear damage. He gave Lennox a smirk, raising his eyebrow, daring the soldier to say anything. Lennox, pale faced, shook his head.

"Comment rescinded," was all the other could say.

"Does he always scream like that?" Izabella asked. Cade chuckled, and nodded.

"Anytime I leave him behind. That's why I have a backpack," Cade pointed to the object in the corner. Bee snuggled in closer, doorwings fluttering as Cade pet his head. Optimus came up, grabbing his pant leg as he looked up at Cade imploringly, and Cade fake-sighed, smiling.

"Alright, alright, I'll pick you up." Cade gave a little huff as he bent down and gathered the bot into his left arm. Now carrying the two bots, he went over to the chair to sit down, the two sparklings being just a bit to heavy to carry for too long. Both bots got themselves comfy, not just cuddling with Cade but also each other, making Izabella coo. Grimlock, following Cade around as usual, sat himself at Cade's feet, wrapping around them so they couldn't move. Hot Rod climbed up the side to sit on the right arm of the chair, so he could be close to Bee. Crosshairs and Drift, not wanting to be left out, raced over to the pile.

Lennox and Izabella began to laugh, as Drift wrapped himself around Cade's neck, and Crosshairs sitting on the left arm of the chair, leaning against Cade's bicep as a backrest so he could play with his Rubix cube. Hound wriggled out of Izabella's grip, and went over, also joining the sparkling pile. He jumped up to sit on the inventor's knees, only needing a little boost from Grimlock to get up, then lie on his stomach.

Now Lennox and Izabella were really laughing, nearly crying with mirth at the glare that Cade sent them.

"You both are cruel people. Cruel." He said carefully, eager not to disturb anyone from the pile he suddenly found himself in the middle of.

"You're such a dad," Izabella said, grinning. Cade shot her a look.

"I'll 'dad' you in a minute, I swear, I'll send you to bed with no dinner, the both of you. You just wait and see," neither listened to his vows though, as they continued to laugh at his expense. Cade sighed, hoping the others found a cure soon.

...though, five more minutes like this wouldn't be _that_ bad.

Never do a puppy pile with the sparklings again, since they all begin to scream when you try to move.

Don't let Lennox near the beer or Izabella near the ice cream for the next week as punishment for prolonging your suffering.

The day was finally here. Topspin and another bot Cade didn't know had shown up, saying that they had found the cure, for sure this time, since they'd already tested it. Cade didn't necessarily want to know how they tested it, but was nonetheless very glad that the cure was found (he ignored the small part of him that was sad the adorable sparklings would soon be replaced by their not so cute older selves). Lennox and Izabella helped tote them outside, each grabbing Crosshairs and Drift, and Hound and Hot Rod respectively, while Cade grabbed Optimus and Bumblebee while Grimlock followed.

The process in of itself was actually very quick. A small blast by a gun like object, which panicked Cade a little ("More like a lot." "Shut up Lennox."), and then voila! Back to normal.

Cade's lot went last, and Cade nearly fell to the big optics and grabby hands when he put Bee in place. But he stayed strong, moving enough of a distance so that the cure could be administered, and left in the sparklings place was Bee, fully grown and looking very confused, much like the others are currently. Grimlock was changed next, which went relatively smoothly, being that even full sized he still followed Cade's commands. Optimus was the hardest of all though.

The Autobot leader wouldn't let go of Cade, holding on tightly despite everyone's attempt to tug him off. Eventually, Cade suggested they all take a break, telling Topspin and Lennox to explain to the others what had happened to them all. Cade sat on a bench by the house, watching Optimus carefully.

"Wish you could understand me," Cade said, frowning, "that would make this much easier."

"-ade," a small voice said, surprising Cade. Was that-? Optimus looked up at the human, optics sad.

"Ca-ade," the sparkling said, and Cade couldn't help but laugh a little, amused at the irony that now of all times the sparkling learns to say his name.

"Yep, I'm Cade," he replied, "and you are Optimus, leader of the Autobots, who really needs to get back to his old self. The machine may be scary, but it's safe. Ok? You are safe." Cade stood up, walking over slowly to the machine. Optimus noticeably tensed near it, but Cade kept going, nearing the object so he could pat it.

"See? Safe," Cade reassured, patting the machine. Optimus looked at him for a moment, and Cade swore he saw some of the old him, a tiredness and distrust that was so unnatural for a sparkling. Then, Optimus looked at the machine, reaching over to pat it too. Cade took this as acceptance, and moved away to put Optimus into position. Topspin, seeing how Optimus was now in position and not with Cade, quickly pushed the button, changing the Autobot back into the old, wise leader they all knew. Izabella cheered a little, and Lennox smiled gladly, while the others all gave varying whoops and cheers of relief that their leader was back. Cade smiled, ignoring the twisting, ugly sensation in his gut.

"What- what happened?" Optimus asked, and the group quickly launched into the full tale , now with added bits and pieces from Cade now that he wasn't distracted. It was dark out by the time everything was explained and sorted out.

"So, what now?" Izabella said, yawning as she did. Cade ruffled the top of her head and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Now, you go to bed, miss Izzy. I think all of us need some rest after the hectic week. You bots are welcome to stay here until tomorrow, get some rest before your trip back." Most of them nodded, lumbering off and around the place to find a good place to sleep. As Lennox escorted the tired girl inside, Cade gave a glance at the bots, and nearly laughed.

Crosshairs and Drift chose to sleep near each other in a small grove of trees. Hound wasn't near anyone, choosing to sleep by the guest room Izabella was in. Grimlock had plopped down where he was standing and was already snoring. Hot Rod stayed close to Bee, who was also right outside the house.

"Not so grown up after all, huh?" Cade said to himself, smiling softly.

"What do you mean?" Cade turned to Optimus, too tired to even jump in surprise, and just smiled at the Autobot leader.

"Just remarking on something Optimus, it's nothing big. Anyway, I'm going to get some rest now. Goodnight big guy, I'll see you in the morning." As Cade turned to go into the house, he heard a shift of metal, then:

"Cade... thank you. For caring for us." Cade looked back, and nodded. He went inside, quickly changing into some shorts for sleeping and getting into bed, feeling dead tired. He noticed that, outside of his room, Optimus had changed into his truck form, and was guarding his room from the outside. Sighing, Cade shook his head fondly, closing his eyes.

"Not grown up indeed," he mumbled, promptly falling asleep, content in knowing that all his friends were now back to their normal selves, and safe for the night.

For now, his family was home. Everything else could wait for the morning.

 **So that's it for today, also, I didn't want to say this before and spoil a little of the fic, but I couldn't get Topspin's accent (I mean, the wreckers in tf3 were Scottish, while now he's Spanish I think?), so just...make up whatever accent you want in your mind.**

 **Goodnight! (Or morning, whatever time it is for you!)**


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